Filipino film-makers free after 8 months captivity

By

AP

PublishedFriday, February 21, 2014

Two Filipino sisters kidnapped by extremists eight months ago escaped their captors in the jungles of the southern Philippines and told authorities they were kept in isolation in a hut on a meager diet.

Nadjoua and Linda Bansil were abducted by the militant group Abu Sayyaf when they travelled to the restive Jolo island, the militant stronghold, for a video documentary about the lives and poor coffee farmers.

Philippine marines found them before nightfall Thursday in Buhanginan village in mountainous Patikul town, clad in black dresses that exposed only their eyes. They lost weight and one of the women was fondly cradling a cat, marine Capt. Ryan Lacuesta said.

"They said that their captors often kept them in isolation in the mountain and the cat gave them company and pleasure," Lacuesta told The Associated Press by telephone from Jolo.

He quoted one of women as saying they had shared their food with the cat and joking that the pet they named Juanita was fatter than them. It wasn't clear how they acquired the cat.

He said that the women lost a lot of weight but were otherwise fine.

They were taken to a military trauma center in Jolo for medical check-up, given their first meal then flown to southern Zamboanga city, where they were briefly presented to journalists.

Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrerro did not allow the women to be interviewed, saying they were exhausted.

A brother of the women, Mohammed, told reporters he'll accompany his sisters back home to their mother in Manila. He said he refrained from asking them details about their captivity until they recovered.

The Abu Sayyaf had demanded 50 million pesos ransom ($1.1 million) in exchange for the sisters' freedom, but Lacuesta said it was not clear if money had changed hands. Constant military assaults and search operations put pressure the kidnappers to let go of their captives, he said.

The women said that their captors moved them often from one jungle encampment to another to avoid being tracked by government forces.

They were fed rice, dried fish and root crops and often were detained in a hut. When a marine patrol approached Thursday, their young guards ran away and the women dashed to freedom, Lacuesta said.

The sisters were born in Algeria to an Algerian mother and a Filipino father but grew up in the Philippines, where they have produced independent films in recent years.